Vegan"s, the recent trend of re-framing the wearing of fur as eco-friendly, and somehow removed from the animal cruelty for which they represents.
The perceptions of vintage fur as sustainable and (in a stunning leap of logic,) not contradictory to a life of lesser harm has given some vegans/vegetarians the delusion it’s somehow cruelty free, simply because the animals were killed years or decades earlier. The eco-minded individual has accepted the spoon-fed “green” platitudes of the fur industry, believing fur environmentally friendly as it’s been stripped from a mink, fox, lynx, dog or cat. In other words, animals are from nature and thus, are an ever-renewing “fabric.” Both of these arguments are entirely false and as tiresome as “I can’t go vegan, because I love cheese too much.”
Those who wear fur utilize the same justifications made by those who eat meat and/or dairy—they flail with logic, insist that it’s good for this reason or that, but in the end, they do it because it satisfies a superficial whim.
Nevertheless, some of you may argue, “Isn’t the fur already dead?” In the instance of vintage fur, the animals were killed so long ago, it seems reasonable to walk around in its skin (i.e. why let it go to waste?) Well, a hamburger is dead, so is a steak—this strain of judgment invalidates one’s reason for choosing veganism altogether. If we extrapolate this logic to other areas of our lives, there is now no reason not to reap the rewards of all inhuman acts, secure in the justification that you did not have a direct hand in committing the cruelty. Conflict diamonds? Absolutely, those earrings will look
smashing on you! Child labor? Hells yes, wrap those sneakers up! GMC keeps building Hummers, why let 8,000 pounds of steel go to waste? Environmentalism seems ridiculous with this particular brand of wisdom, and it completely excuses any accountability that we have as individuals.
Wearing vintage fur often comes with the reasoning that it’s simply too “beautiful” to part with, or that parting would be wasteful (and therefore, not environmentally friendly.) Here is why the vintage fur-wearer really doesn’t care about any of these issues; if they are really keeping a fur coat to avoid creating needless waste, the solution is simple. Create a positive from a brutal act and donate it to an animal shelter for use as bedding, or to the homeless. If the concern is truly one of environmentalism, then donating to those in need should be an obvious and easy choice. Donating repurposes the use of fur into one that does not propagate the cruelty for which it stood.
Torn over what to do with your vintage fur? Turning that blight on humanity into a benefit and congratulate yourself on not being full of crap for taking the sustainability argument of vintage fur to its logical end.
“But, but, it’s been passed down in my family and represents generations before me!”
This familial justification is weak—many objects that are also “vintage” and held meaning to generations passed, e.g.
Jim Crow signs,
The Turner Diaries, or just a nice
poster selling men’s slacks. Someone, at some point, found these objects important or simply visually pleasing for the feelings they invoked. Today, such objects represent a failing in our humanity. Simply because we
can commit an act to satisfy our base desires is not a justification.
Visit this
http://kaufmanfurs.net/gallery/index.php?cat=49 for more ideas on how to do some good with that fur coat.
“Nevertheless!” Some of you may persist, ‘Isn’t fur eco-friendly? Isn’t it all natural and good to the Earth and entirely sustainable?”
This is my favorite as it’s the most inexplicable, simply because a resource is natural does not make it sustainable. The nutria, commonly known as the river rat, is a sizable rodent indigenous to South America. The nutria currently holds an “invasive-species” status, wreaking havoc on the Louisiana coastal wetlands. The fur industry is holding the nutria as a shining example of its sustainable efforts, utilizing a species of animal that is destroying a natural habitat. This is nothing more than ecological Munchausen syndrome by proxy—the nutria only exists in North America because the
fur industry imported the species in the 1950s and bred them in a fervor that eventually outgrew demand.
Wow, but we’re to believe that wild fur trapping is done with a cautious and respectful eye on the at-risk animal species in a given area? Even if we ignore these facts, as the fur-wearing environmentalist is bound to do, only 15% of fur is wild. The other 85% of fur coats and trim originates from fur farming. As most are familiar, animal agriculture is responsible for more greenhouse gas emissions, land and water destruction than automobiles.
According to industry sources, a growing number of international fur traders, processors and fashion designers, have gradually shifted business to Asian countries, where cheap labor and skillful workers are plentiful. Fur manufacturing in Asia was first established in Hong Kong because of low labor costs and common use of English in the business sector. Later, some of the employees that used to work for these Hong Kong fur companies, started their own businesses in mainland China. These mainland fur companies mainly focus on garment manufacturing and usually outsource designing jobs…Industry sources told ATO/GZ that over 80% of fur garment manufacturing and raw skin processing, i.e. dyeing and dressing, takes place in South China... Shipment from the States to China
Once the buyer completes his payment in full, most likely in cash, he can collect the pelts. Given the high value, they are shipped to Hong Kong via air. The major export ports in the world include Seattle, Copenhagen, Helsinki and Toronto. The industry estimates that a total value of US$500 million mink pelts of all origins are eventually shipped into China. Most buyers ship pelts through gray channels to their manufacturing plants in mainland China to avoid paying of tariffs and taxes of 39% (including 17% VAT) of the furs’ value. Industry sources told us that because profit margins from making fur garments are so slim, going through legal channels to import fur skins makes them less competitive. For example, in north China, the retail margin is said to be 10% or lower.
Well, that’s a lot of fuel used, and we all will just trust that the environmental standards are followed properly throughout. Let’s not forget about the “cleaning, softening, preserving, dyeing and drying” that must occur to prevent the pelts from rotting while you cherish their beauty. This process doesn’t include the necessity of extended care to keep that fur in top shape! The Canadian Fur is Green website states.
Marc Kaufman Furs / Fur Warhouse
208 Qwst 29th St
NYC NY 10001
212 563 3877
www.kaufmanfurs.com
New York's Largest Fur Store
Great Selection of Fur Coats and Fur Jackets.
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